


Starlight Dance

by TheInsaneFox



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura is way too sweet, Dancing, F/M, Fluff, Shiro is stressed out and everyone tries to help, honestly this is just a sweet and fluffy piece
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-27 06:53:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16213757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheInsaneFox/pseuds/TheInsaneFox
Summary: Shiro knew he needed sleep when the lights of the screens in front of him began to swirl and dance before his eyes. He was trying to remember the last time that he had slept--was it last night? No, was it two or even three nights ago? He could no longer tell. The artificial light cycles on the ship and thrown his circadian rhythms to hell since the Paladins had found themselves aboard the Castle of Lions. And if he was starting to hallucinate a hippo in the room, he refused to admit it was due to exhaustion and instead chalked it up to the fact that he’d just been talking with Keith about twenty minutes prior.





	Starlight Dance

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> So this was written for a project that unfortunately fell through but I'm excited because now I get to share it on here with everyone!
> 
> I know, I know. This is Shallura and it's rated G. *gasp* But I'm pretty proud of how this turned out and it was cute and fun to write so please enjoy.
> 
> I also feel like I need to point out that I am a multi-shipper so antis, please feel free to walk away as I mostly ship Sheith and this was written for a particular group project.
> 
> As always, you can come scream at me on [Tumblr](http://theinsanefox.tumblr.com) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/FoxyLovesFandom) (Fair warning though I did recently decide to lock my Twitter so I can have more control over who follows me in this trash fire fandom, but go ahead and send me a follow request and the only reason I won't accept is if you're an anti)
> 
> Much love! ~Foxy

Shiro knew he needed sleep when the lights of the screens in front of him began to swirl and dance before his eyes. He was trying to remember the last time that he had slept--was it last night? No, was it two or even three nights ago? He could no longer tell. The artificial light cycles on the ship and thrown his circadian rhythms to hell since the Paladins had found themselves aboard the Castle of Lions. And if he was starting to hallucinate a hippo in the room, he refused to admit it was due to exhaustion and instead chalked it up to the fact that he’d just been talking with Keith about twenty minutes prior.

  
He barely heard the opening of the door over the hum of the monitors. Didn’t even notice the sound of soft footsteps as someone came in and hovered nearby. So when he felt the hand softly touching his shoulder and a female voice saying, “Shiro, love, why are you still awake?” he about jumped out of his skin.

  
“Allura!” He gasped, spinning around to face her. “Don’t sneak up on me!”

  
Allura raised her hands in apology. “Sorry, Shiro. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  
He sighed, burying his face in his hands. “It’s fine. I’m just on edge right now.”

  
Long fingers gently pried Shiro’s hands from his face. He was beginning to wonder if Allura was just another hallucination from lack of sleep but the firm grip she had on his hands told him otherwise.

  
“You need sleep,” Allura’s voice was concerned and stern all at once. “Come to bed already.”

  
“I can’t just yet,” Shiro groaned, turning back to face the screens. “Zarkon’s forces will attack any day now. I need to come up with a plan to defeat them.”

  
He slammed his fist down on the keyboard in pure frustration, while also letting out a an irritated cry. He had no choice, he had to find a way to defeat Zarkon. The fate of the universe, of everyone he loved, depended on him...

  
“Shiro!” Allura’s voice was firm as she spun him around to face her. “Enough of that. I know you’re stressed and scared, we all are. But you’ll be useless as the Black Paladin if you don’t get some sleep.”

  
Shiro opened his mouth to protest again and Allura clapped her hand over it before he could say anything. “I won’t take no for an answer.”

  
He wanted to say something, but he stopped. He remembered she had thrown him into a pod with a single hand, and later had pitched Lotor across the deck as if he was no more than a baseball. Allura was incredibly strong and even Shiro would have a hard time in a fight with her.  
But all of the fight left him as he looked at her, his beautiful and fierce princess. He knew she was right, that he should get some sleep. But he also knew that he would never be able to rest until he got at least something figured out.

  
Allura finally removed her hand from his mouth, taking his silence as agreement. Shiro sighed, debating for a second if he should just ignore her warning. But the look in her eyes told him not to press his luck, so he accepted defeat and turned to start shutting down the monitors.

  
As he was closing out of windows and programs, something caught his attention. He saw a symbol that looked familiar and curiosity got the best of him. When he clicked on it, he couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as he mumbled, “Pidge, you magnificent little brat.”

  
“Is something wrong?” Allura asked, completely baffled by Shiro’s sudden change in mood.

  
“Everything is great,” he replied truthfully. “I just found something Pidge left.”

  
There was a pause from Allura. “That sounds a bit ominous.”

  
“It’s not, I promise.” Shiro was actually smiling now, something he realized he hadn’t done in a very long time. He hoped he didn’t look too maniacal.

  
Allura didn’t appear to be very confident in that statement, but watched him carefully as Shiro pressed a few buttons on the screen. When he pushed back, he couldn’t help the satisfied smirk on his face as the speakers began to play the opening chords of a familiar song to him.

  
“What music is this?” Allura asked, legitimately surprised to hear it.

  
“Earth music.” Shiro couldn’t contain his excitement as the first song ended and one of his favorites began. “I used to listen to this all the time back home. Pidge must have found a way to transmit some of our old music all the way out here.”

  
His exhaustion was temporarily forgotten and replaced by a pure, childlike excitement. Shiro turned to face Allura and held out his hand while asking, “May I have this dance, Princess?”

  
A blush, then a nod as Allura placed her hand in his. “Of course.”

  
Shiro pulled Allura close, wrapping his arms around her waist and rocking them gently back and forth to the music. It felt a lot like a high school dance, but despite the awkward appearance, Shiro felt more relaxed than he had in a long time. Allura tended to have that effect on him.

  
The song was a slow, sweet ballad. Shiro remembered it from his childhood, how his older sister would play it nonstop and talk incessantly of the day her prince charming would come and sweep her off her feet. She always bullied Shiro into pretending to be the knight while she played the princess and they’d act out all different pretend scenarios in which he would rescue her and take her away to marry her.

  
He told Allura all of this, and the laughter was enough to make his soul feel just a touch lighter.

  
“I can just imagine little baby Shiro pretending to be a knight!” She was giggling. “Kind of fitting with how you became a Paladin, though.”

  
Shiro hummed noncommittally at that, not wanting to give her any ideas for the future. He still had his dignity to maintain, after all.

  
Then again, he also knew Allura was the last person who needed saving.

  
They had discussed possible plans for when the war was over--how Allura would start ruling the former Galra Empire with a more democratic approach, how Shiro would be her top General, and how the other Paladins would help command the army. They all needed to convince themselves there was a life after this. They needed something to fight for if they had any hope of making it out of this final battle alive.

  
“Shiro,” Allura’s voice broke through his thoughts. “The music ended.”

  
“Oh.” He looked over at the screen and saw that he’d forgotten to set a playlist. “There’s more if you want to listen to it.”

  
Allura shook her head. “We can save that for tomorrow. Rest now.”

  
Shiro grudgingly agreed and set to work finally shutting down the computers.

  
He paused for a second as he thought of something though, and after pressing a few buttons finally turned everything off before he followed Allura back into their shared bedroom.

 

* * *

 

  
Shiro awoke the next morning in a cold sweat. He had passed out the minute his head had hit the pillow and judging by the clock, had been out for a solid 12 hours. Allura was already gone, so he knew that he had been asleep for longer than he had wanted to be.

  
He hated that he’d slept so long, especially knowing that the Galra would be on them any day now. So the instant his eyes opened he was getting out of bed and hastily throwing some clothes on.

  
He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he walked faster than normal down to the control room, trying to force himself to even his breathing the entire way. By the time he reached the room, he threw the doors open more dramatically than was necessary, but nobody seemed to even notice.

  
“Morning, Shiro!” Hunk waved at him from his monitor.

  
Keith, Lance, and Pidge all acknowledged him in similar manners, leaving Shiro horribly confused.

  
“Why are you all so calm? Zarkon will be on us any minute now!” Shiro was trying to comprehend how he was the only one who could be so stressed at that moment.

  
“Oh, didn’t you know? We beat Zarkon while you were asleep,” Lance said, completely serious.

  
Shiro could only imagine the look he must have had on his face at that since the entire team burst out into hysterical laughter.

  
“We’re kidding! But man you should have seen your face!” Lance was howling, bent over in his seat.

  
“That wasn’t funny,” Shiro grumbled, counting backwards from ten to keep himself from snapping at his friends.

  
“That’s enough!” Allura was suddenly beside Shiro, handing him a cup of what passed for coffee on the ship. Pidge and Hunk had done their best to recreate coffee from Earth, and while it was a far cry from what they all knew and loved, it was the best they could manage.

  
Allura and Coran never understood the Earthlings’ need for the caffeinated sludge, as they called it, but tossed it up to cultural differences.

  
Shiro accepted the cup and tried to down it all in one go--the only way he’d figured out how to make it bearable but still get the morning kick he needed.

  
“Anyway, let’s talk about a plan,” Allura called them all to order, and with that they fell into line.

 

* * *

 

 

By dinner time, the team had worked out some ideas of how to win the upcoming battle against the Galra. It wasn’t ideal, but it was something, and just enough to finally set Shiro’s mind at ease a bit. So he let everyone go to dinner, but stayed behind in the lounge that the Paladins all frequented in their free time, sprawled out on the couch.

  
The windows over on the far wall looked out into the endless expanse that was space, and Shiro found himself mesmerized by it every time. Of course he had been fascinated by the stars and planets ever since he was a small child, but it never ceased to amaze him how even this far out, the stars looked like they did at home.

  
He didn’t even need any warning to know Allura was walking into the room. He could sense her presence as well as his own breathing, so he merely held his human arm out towards her so she could tuck herself neatly into his side and lean on his shoulder.

  
They sat in comfortable silence for a bit, content to just watch the stars pass by and listen to each other breathe. But for once, it was Shiro who spoke first.

  
“What are you thinking about?” He asked, inwardly wincing at what a cliche he was.

  
Allura hummed in thought, tapping her lip. “Mostly about how glad I am that you seem a touch more relaxed now.”

  
“Do I?” Shiro knew he felt just a tinge better, but he wasn’t convinced the others had noticed.

  
“Yes,” Allura said and reiterated her thought. “I think the sleep and talking with everyone helped you.”

  
Shiro didn't know what to say. He was still fighting a war with himself on what their next step would be, trying to figure out how they could win with as few casualties as possible. But the feeling of soft fingers scratching sweetly at his scalp drew him back to the present, so he turned to Allura and placed a grateful kiss to her forehead.

  
“Thank you, by the way,” He murmured into the crown of her head.

  
“Whatever for?”

  
He laughed and pulled her even closer. “For calling me on my crap. Making me do what’s best for everyone when I couldn’t see it for myself.”

  
“All I did was make you get some sleep.” Allura seemed confused by his statement.

  
“It’s more than that.” Shiro paused, trying to articulate his thoughts. “Even back when we first became Paladins, you were pushing all of us to be the best we could be. You knew I was meant to be the leader and as much as I hesitated, you really brought it out in me. So thank you.”

  
She laughed at that, amused and innocent all at once. “It’s in your nature to be a leader, Shiro. The lions and I just helped to draw it out.”

  
“I guess.” He sighed, deciding to let the subject drop. He wanted to point out that Keith had tried to lead Voltron in his absence and it hadn’t gone so well, but figured it was probably not worth the argument.

  
“Anyway, did you want me to show you the rest of the Earth music Pidge was able to load into the network?”

  
Allura’s face lit up at that. “Yes, please.”

  
So Shiro led her back into the control room they had been in the night before. At first he pulled up the same song they had danced to the previous night, but he soon found himself showing her all of his old favorites. He was impressed by the range of genres and artists Pidge had managed to load, with everything from oldies to the latest hits that they had been listening to before they left Earth. Shiro made a mental note to thank Pidge for doing all of that the next time he saw her.

  
While flipping through the music library, a certain song immediately jumped out at him. He smiled and selected it, waiting a few seconds for the opening notes to start playing over the speakers. The song was another slow one, but in it, the singer sung about finding the love of his life, dancing under the stars, and how his lover was absolutely perfect. He couldn't think of a better song to express what he was feeling for Allura, and by the look on her face, she absolutely understood what he was trying to tell her.

  
With a huge smile, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him in for a sweet kiss. "You know, you're pretty perfect yourself."

  
Shiro's blush rivaled the shade of Red. But after counting to ten, he nodded and buried his face in Allura's neck. "Thank you. I love you so much."

  
Allura nuzzled him back and began to sway in time to the music, much like they had the night before. "I know. I love you too."

  
With another quick yet passionate kiss, Shiro pulled her out towards the center of the control room where the light from the surrounding stars shined the brightest and twirled her around so that they could dance.

  
He didn’t know what the future held with their ongoing fight against the Galra. But what he did know was that with Allura by his side, he would gladly face every danger head-on.

  
And he also knew that he couldn’t have asked for a more perfect partner than her.

**Author's Note:**

> Special shout out to my dear friends thoughtsappear, Voxane, softieghost, copperwings, crazyhomoinspace, CatAvalon, and Ash for helping me work through this piece and being A+ betas. Love my Stupid Idiots and Crappy Jerks <3


End file.
